Vision strengthening methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Active dichoptic perceptual-learning tasks or dichoptic game play have been shown to significantly improve visual acuity of amblyopic children and adults. However, these dichoptic perceptual learning tasks are intensive and repetitive such that non-compliance is high. In contrast, the invention provides dichoptic perceptual learning in a manner that the user maintains its use and compliance is increased. Further, compliance becomes automatic if the user performs tasks in a normal manner and “forgets” that they are actually undergoing treatment as it is integrated with minimal disruption to their life and activities. Accordingly, a methodology exploiting complementary dichoptic simulation is presented.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 15/507,041 filed Feb. 27,2017, which is a national stage of PCT/CA2015/000479 filed Aug. 27, 2015designating the United States and which claims priority of U.S.provisional application 62/042,293 filed on Aug. 27, 2014, the contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to vision and more particularly to providingmethods and systems to reduce the extent of binocular dysfunction and/orimprove visual function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The human visual processing involves complex actions and interactions ofthe eyes and the brain. To simplify this description, we can think ofthe visual system as being composed of three areas of function, namely,acuity, perception, and eye movement. Any one of these functions can beimpaired without impairment to the remaining two functions orcombinations of impairments may arise from a variety of factorsincluding genetics, disease, and health issues such as heart attacksthrough to mild traumatic brain injuries.

Visual acuity, commonly refers to the clarity of vision and is similarlydependent upon a combination of optical and neural factors, as is thevisual system overall, including for example, the sharpness of theretinal focus within the eye, the health and functioning of the retina,and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain. A commoncause of low visual acuity is refractive error (ametropia) which canarise from a variety of factors leading to conditions such aspseudomyopia, myopia, and hyperopia whilst optical causes may includeastigmatism or more complex corneal irregularities. Typically, suchissues are addressed by optical means such as eyeglasses, contactlenses, laser surgery, etc.

Neural factors that limit acuity are located in the retina, the brain,or the pathway connecting them, the optical nerve. Examples for thefirst are a detached retina and macular degeneration, to name just two,whilst in other cases, low visual acuity is caused by brain damage, suchas from traumatic brain injury or stroke. A common impairment isamblyopia resulting from incorrect nerve pathway function connecting theeye with the brain which results in decreased vision in an eye thatotherwise appears normal or the decrease is out of proportion to anyassociated structural problems of the eye. Amblyopia has beenclassically treated by patching the fellow eye to force use of theamblyopic eye. However, many individuals, especially those who only havea mild form, are not even aware they have the condition until tested atolder ages, since the vision in their stronger eye is normal.Individuals with severe amblyopia, however, may experience relatedvisual disorders, including poor depth perception, poor visual acuity,poor spatial acuity, low sensitivity to contrast and motion. Amblyopiais characterized by several functional abnormalities in spatial vision,including reductions in visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivityfunction (CSF), and Vernier acuity as well as spatial distortion,abnormal spatial interactions, and impaired contour detection. Inaddition, individuals with amblyopia suffer from binocular abnormalitiessuch as impaired stereoacuity (stereoscopic acuity) and abnormalbinocular summation.

Within the prior art there is an increasing understanding of the role ofbinocular dysfunction (suppression) in amblyopia that has motivated areformulation of amblyopia treatment. Many amblyopic patients have astructurally intact binocular visual system that can be revealed bydecreasing the fellow-eye contrast to reduce interocular suppression.Accordingly, repeated active dichoptic perceptual-learning tasks ordichoptic game play have been shown to significantly improve visualacuity of amblyopic children and adults. Such dichoptic tasks and gamesprovide contrast-balanced binocular vision, with low contrast for thefellow eye and high contrast for the amblyopic eye. However, thesedichoptic perceptual learning tasks are intensive and repetitive and thedichoptic games used to date have limited appeal resulting inapproximately 40% of unsupervised patients becoming non-compliant witheven only 16 hours of assigned activity over a 4 week period.

Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a method or system thatprovides the required dichoptic perceptual learning but in a manner thatthe user maintains its use and compliance is increased. It would befurther beneficial to provide this method or system in a manner that theuser performs tasks in a normal manner and “forgets” that they areactually undergoing treatment as it is integrated with minimaldisruption to their lift and activities. Accordingly, the inventors haveestablished a methodology exploiting complementary dichoptic stimulationfor addressing binocular amblyopia within normal environments throughtheir use of display devices in their everyday activities.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to mitigate limitations in theprior art relating to vision and more particularly to providing methodsand systems to reduce the extent of binocular dysfunction and/or improvevisual function.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided amethod comprising establishing a first image for presentation to a lefteye of a user and a second image for presentation to a right eye of theuser, each of the first image and the second image generated bymodification of a source image in dependence upon a characteristic of atleast one of a neural condition and a neurological condition of theuser, wherein neither the user's left eye or right eye receive acomplete representation of the source image.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided asystem comprising a module, the module comprising:

-   -   a first port for receiving first electronic content for display        to a user;    -   a second port for providing second electronic content to a        display device associated with the user; and    -   a processing circuit for modifying the first electronic content        to generate the second electronic content; wherein the        modification is such that a left eye of a user and a right eye        of the user receive different images and such that the modified        content for either the user's left eye or right eye is also        modified according to a characteristic of a neurological        condition of the user and neither the user's left eye or right        eye receive a complete representation of the electronic content.

Executable instructions for execution by a processor stored upon anon-volatile, non-transitory storage medium which when executed resultin a process being performed, the process comprising establishing afirst image for presentation to a left eye of a user and a second imagefor presentation to a right eye of the user, each of the first image andthe second image generated by modification of a source image independence upon a characteristic of an optical condition of the user,wherein neither the user's left eye or right eye receive a completerepresentation of the source image.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a network environment within which embodiments of theinvention may be employed;

FIG. 2 depicts a wireless portable electronic device supportingcommunications to a network such as depicted in FIG. 1 and as supportingembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3A depicts an image dichoptically segmented for spatial contentvariation for presentation to a user according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3B depicts a portion of text dichoptically segmented for spatialcontent variation for presentation to a user according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 4 depicts portions an image dichoptically segmented for spatialcontent variation for presentation to a user according to an embodimentof the invention together with opacity graphs;

FIG. 5A depicts visual acuity results for eight amblyopic childrenviewing movies modified according to embodiments of the invention over atwo-week period;

FIG. 5B depicts improvements in visual acuity and stereo acuity foramblyopic subjects employing an embodiment of the invention for one hourdaily for two weeks;

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary process flow for a system according to anembodiment of the invention exploiting dual display portions withspatial weighting;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary process flow for a system according to anembodiment of the invention exploiting a single display with chromaticweighting; and

FIG. 8 depicts examples of optical displays, optical glasses, etc.supporting embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to vision and more particularly toproviding methods and systems to reduce the extent of binoculardysfunction and/or improve visual function.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiment(s) only, and isnot intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplaryembodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It beingunderstood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope asset forth in the appended claims.

A “portable electronic device” (PED) as used herein and throughout thisdisclosure, refers to a wireless device used for communications andother applications that requires a battery or other independent form ofenergy for power. This includes devices, but is not limited to, such asa cellular telephone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA),portable computer, pager, portable multimedia player, portable gamingconsole, laptop computer, tablet computer, and an electronic reader.

A “fixed electronic device” (FED) as used herein and throughout thisdisclosure, refers to a wireless and/or wired device used forcommunications and other applications that requires connection to afixed interface to obtain power. This includes, but is not limited to, alaptop computer, a personal computer, a computer server, a kiosk, agaming console, a digital set-top box, an analog set-top box, anInternet enabled appliance, an Internet enabled television, and amultimedia player.

An “application” (commonly referred to as an “app”) as used herein mayrefer to, but is not limited to, a “software application” and an elementof a “software suite” as used herein may refer to, but is not limitedto, a computer program designed to allow an individual to perform anactivity. An application thus differs from an operating system (whichruns a computer), a utility (which performs maintenance orgeneral-purpose chores), and a programming tools (with which computerprograms are created). Generally, within the following description withrespect to embodiments of the invention an application is generallypresented in respect of software permanently and/or temporarilyinstalled upon a PED and/or FED for the purposes of presenting amicro-survey to a consumer and/or customer.

A “social network” or “social networking service” as used herein mayrefer to, but is not limited to, a platform to build social networks orsocial relations among people who may, for example, share interests,activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. This includes, but isnot limited to, social networks such as U.S. based services such asFacebook, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter; as well as Nexopia, Badoo, Bebo,VKontakte, Delphi, Hi5, Hyves, iWiW, Nasza-Klasa, Soup, Glocals,Skyrock, The Sphere, StudiVZ, Tagged, Tuenti, XING, Orkut, Mxit,Cyworld, Mixi, renren, weibo and Wretch.

“Social media” or “social media services” as used herein may refer to,but is not limited to, a means of interaction among people in which theycreate, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtualcommunities and networks. This includes, but is not limited to, socialmedia services relating to magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, socialblogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs orpictures, video, rating and social bookmarking as well as thoseexploiting blogging, picture-sharing, video logs, wall-posting,music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few. Socialmedia services may be classified, for example, as collaborative projects(for example, Wikipedia); blogs and microblogs (for example, Twitter™);content communities (for example, YouTube and DailyMotion); socialnetworking sites (for example, Facebook™); virtual game-worlds (e.g.,World of Warcraft™); and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life™).

An “enterprise” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, aprovider of a service and/or a product to a user, customer, or consumer.This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, amarket, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, acharity, a utility, and a service provider. Such enterprises may bedirectly owned and controlled by a company or may be owned and operatedby a franchisee under the direction and management of a franchiser.

A “service provider” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to,a third party provider of a service and/or a product to an enterprise.This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, amarket, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, autility, an own brand provider, and a service provider wherein theservice and/or product is at least one of marketed, sold, offered, anddistributed by the enterprise solely or in addition to the serviceprovider.

A ‘third party’ or “third party provider” as used herein may refer to,but is not limited to, a so-called “arm's length” provider of a serviceand/or a product to an enterprise and/or service provider wherein theconsumer and/or customer engages the third party but the actual serviceand/or product that they are interested in and/or purchase.

A “user” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, anenterprise, a service provider, and an individual accessing at least oneof publishing software and/or publishing software according toembodiments of the invention from the viewpoint of publishinginformation.

“User information” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to,user behavior information and/or user profile information. It may alsoinclude a user's biometric information, an estimation of the user'sbiometric information, or a projection/prediction of a user's biometricinformation derived from current and/or historical biometricinformation.

A “wearable device” or “wearable sensor” relates to miniature electronicdevices that are worn by the user including those under, within, with oron top of clothing and are part of a broader general class of wearabletechnology which includes “wearable computers” which in contrast aredirected to general or special purpose information technologies andmedia development. Such wearable devices and/or wearable sensors mayinclude, but not be limited to, smartphones, smart watches, e-textiles,smart shirts, activity trackers, smart glasses, environmental sensors,medical sensors, biological sensors, physiological sensors, chemicalsensors, ambient environment sensors, position sensors, neurologicalsensors, drug delivery systems, medical testing and diagnosis devices,and motion sensors.

Reference to a “document” as used herein may refer to, but is notlimited to, any machine-readable and machine-storable work product. Adocument may be a file, a combination of files, one or more files withembedded links to other files, etc. The files may be of any type, suchas text, audio, image, video, etc. Parts of a document to be rendered toan end user can be thought of as “content” of the document. A documentmay include “structured data” containing both content (words, pictures,etc.) and some indication of the meaning of that content (for example,e-mail fields and associated data, HTML tags and associated data, etc.)Advertisement spots in the document may be defined by embeddedinformation or instructions. In the context of the Internet, a commondocument is a Web page. Web pages often include content and may includeembedded information (such as meta information, hyperlinks, etc.) and/orembedded instructions (such as Javascript, etc.). In many cases, adocument has a unique, addressable, storage location and can thereforebe uniquely identified by this addressable location such as a universalresource locator (URL) for example used as a unique address used toaccess information on the Internet.

A “mask” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a spatialand/or temporal adjustment made to one or more regions of an image beingpresented to a user. Accordingly, the mask may within embodiments of theinvention remove content within the one or more regions of the image orwithin other embodiments of the invention the one or more regions of theimage may be presented as, for example, as a blurred version, a lowcontrast version, a lower intensity, a higher intensity, spectrallyadjusted, and with other content not related to the image. Accordingly,such masks may be considered in more general terms as providing displayregions or spatio-temporal filters. Accordingly, such regions may bedevoid of optical stimuli or include stimuli. However, irrespective ofthe modification(s) made a common characteristic to them is that theyhave graded boundaries such that the modification(s) areintroduced/removed over a boundary around a region such that the userdoes not perceive boundaries between modified and unmodified regions.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is depicted a network environment 200 withinwhich embodiments of the invention may be employed supporting publishingsystems and publishing applications/platforms (PSPAPs) according toembodiments of the invention. Such PSPAPs, for example supportingmultiple channels and dynamic content. As shown first and second usergroups 100A and 100B respectively interface to a telecommunicationsnetwork 200. Within the representative telecommunication architecture aremote central exchange 180 communicates with the remainder of atelecommunication service providers network via the network 200 whichmay include for example long-haul OC-48/OC-backbone elements, an OC-48wide area network (WAN), a Passive Optical Network, and a Wireless Link.The central exchange 180 is connected via the network 200 to local,regional, and international exchanges (not shown for clarity) andtherein through network 200 to first and second cellular APs 195A and195B respectively which provide Wi-Fi cells for first and second usergroups 100A and 100B respectively. Also connected to the network 200 arefirst and second Wi-Fi nodes 110A and 110B, the latter of which beingcoupled to network 200 via router 105. Second Wi-Fi node 110B isassociated with Enterprise 160, e.g. General Electric™, within whichother first and second user groups 100A and 100B are present. Seconduser group 100B may also be connected to the network 200 via wiredinterfaces including, but not limited to, DSL, Dial-Up, DOCSIS,Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power line communication (PLC)which may or may not be routed through a router such as router 105.

Within the cell associated with first AP 110A the first group of users100A may employ a variety of PEDs including for example, laptop computer155, portable gaming console 135, tablet computer 140, smartphone 150,cellular telephone 145 as well as portable multimedia player 130. Withinthe cell associated with second AP 110B are the second group of users100B which may employ a variety of FEDs including for example gamingconsole 125, personal computer 115 and wireless/Internet enabledtelevision 120 as well as cable modem 105. First and second cellular APs195A and 195B respectively provide, for example, cellular GSM (GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications) telephony services as well as 3G and4G evolved services with enhanced data transport support. Secondcellular AP 195B provides coverage in the exemplary embodiment to firstand second user groups 100A and 100B. Alternatively the first and seconduser groups 100A and 100B may be geographically disparate and access thenetwork 200 through multiple APs, not shown for clarity, distributedgeographically by the network operator or operators. First cellular AP195A as show provides coverage to first user group 100A and environment170, which comprises second user group 100B as well as first user group100A. Accordingly, the first and second user groups 100A and 100B mayaccording to their particular communications interfaces communicate tothe network 200 through one or more wireless communications standardssuch as, for example, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138,ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, and IMT-2000. It would be evident to oneskilled in the art that many portable and fixed electronic devices maysupport multiple wireless protocols simultaneously, such that forexample a user may employ GSM services such as telephony and SMS andWi-Fi/WiMAX data transmission, VOIP and Internet access. Accordinglyportable electronic devices within first user group 100A may formassociations either through standards such as IEEE 802.15 and Bluetoothas well in an ad-hoc manner.

Also connected to the network 200 are Social Networks (SOCNETS) 165,first and second content providers 170A and 170B respectively, e.g.YouTube™ and Comcast™, and first to third party providers 175A to 175Crespectively, e.g. Medical Monitoring Service, American Paper Optics™ (athree-dimensional glasses supplier), and Walgreen's (a pharmacycompany), as well as first and second servers 190A and 190B whichtogether with others, not shown for clarity. First and second servers190A and 190B may host according to embodiments of the inventionsmultiple services associated with a provider of publishing systems andpublishing applications/platforms (PSPAPs); a provider of a SOCNET orSocial Media (SOME) exploiting PSPAP features; a provider of a SOCNETand/or SOME not exploiting PSPAP features; a provider of services toPEDS and/or FEDS; a provider of one or more aspects of wired and/orwireless communications; an Enterprise 160 exploiting PSPAP features;license databases; content databases; image databases; contentlibraries; customer databases; websites; and software applications fordownload to or access by FEDs and/or PEDs exploiting and/or hostingPSPAP features. First and second primary content servers 190A and 190Bmay also host for example other Internet services such as a searchengine, financial services, third party applications and other Internetbased services.

Accordingly, a consumer and/or customer (CONCUS) may exploit a PEDand/or FED within an Enterprise 160, for example, and access one of thefirst or second primary content servers 190A and 190B respectively toperform an operation such as accessing/downloading an application whichprovides PSPAP features according to embodiments of the invention;execute an application already installed providing PSPAP features;execute a web based application providing PSPAP features; or accesscontent. Similarly, a CONCUS may undertake such actions or othersexploiting embodiments of the invention exploiting a PED or FED withinfirst and second user groups 100A and 100B respectively via one of firstand second cellular APs 195A and 195B respectively and first Wi-Fi nodes110A.

Now referring to FIG. 2 there is depicted an electronic device 204 andnetwork access point 207 supporting PSPAP features according toembodiments of the invention. Electronic device 204 may, for example, bea PED and/or FED and may include additional elements above and beyondthose described and depicted. Also depicted within the electronic device204 is the protocol architecture as part of a simplified functionaldiagram of a system 200 that includes an electronic device 204, such asa smartphone 155, an access point (AP) 206, such as first AP 110, andone or more network devices 207, such as communication servers,streaming media servers, and routers for example such as first andsecond servers 190A and 190B respectively. Network devices 207 may becoupled to AP 206 via any combination of networks, wired, wirelessand/or optical communication links such as discussed above in respect ofFIG. 1 as well as directly as indicated. Network devices 207 are coupledto network 200 and therein Social Networks (SOCNETS) 165, first andsecond content providers 170A and 170B respectively, e.g. YouTube™ andComcast™, and first to third party providers 175A to 175C respectively,e.g. Medical Monitoring Service, American Paper Optics™ (athree-dimensional glasses supplier), and Walgreen's (a pharmacycompany).

The electronic device 204 includes one or more processors 210 and amemory 212 coupled to processor(s) 210. AP 206 also includes one or moreprocessors 211 and a memory 213 coupled to processor(s) 210. Anon-exhaustive list of examples for any of processors 210 and 211includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instructionset computer (CISC) and the like. Furthermore, any of processors 210 and211 may be part of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) ormay be a part of application specific standard products (ASSPs). Anon-exhaustive list of examples for memories 212 and 213 includes anycombination of the following semiconductor devices such as registers,latches, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, non-volatile random accessmemory devices (NVRAM), SDRAM, DRAM, double data rate (DDR) memorydevices, SRAM, universal serial bus (USB) removable memory, and thelike.

Electronic device 204 may include an audio input element 214, forexample a microphone, and an audio output element 216, for example, aspeaker, coupled to any of processors 210. Electronic device 204 mayinclude a video input element 218, for example, a video camera orcamera, and a video output element 220, for example an LCD display,coupled to any of processors 210. Electronic device 204 also includes akeyboard 215 and touchpad 217 which may for example be a physicalkeyboard and touchpad allowing the user to enter content or selectfunctions within one of more applications 222. Alternatively thekeyboard 215 and touchpad 217 may be predetermined regions of a touchsensitive element forming part of the display within the electronicdevice 204. The one or more applications 222 that are typically storedin memory 212 and are executable by any combination of processors 210.Electronic device 204 also includes accelerometer 260 providingthree-dimensional motion input to the process 210 and GPS 262 whichprovides geographical location information to processor 210.

Electronic device 204 includes a protocol stack 224 and AP 206 includesa communication stack 225. Within system 200 protocol stack 224 is shownas IEEE 802.11 protocol stack but alternatively may exploit otherprotocol stacks such as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)multimedia protocol stack for example. Likewise AP stack 225 exploits aprotocol stack but is not expanded for clarity. Elements of protocolstack 224 and AP stack 225 may be implemented in any combination ofsoftware, firmware and/or hardware. Protocol stack 224 includes an IEEE802.11-compatible PHY module 226 that is coupled to one or moreFront-End Tx/Rx & Antenna 228, an IEEE 802.11-compatible MAC module 230coupled to an IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module 232. Protocol stack 224includes a network layer IP module 234, a transport layer User DatagramProtocol (UDP) module 236 and a transport layer Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP) module 238.

Protocol stack 224 also includes a session layer Real Time TransportProtocol (RTP) module 240, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module242, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module 244 and a Real TimeStreaming Protocol (RTSP) module 246. Protocol stack 224 includes apresentation layer media negotiation module 248, a call control module250, one or more audio codecs 252 and one or more video codecs 254.Applications 222 may be able to create maintain and/or terminatecommunication sessions with any of devices 207 by way of AP 206.Typically, applications 222 may activate any of the SAP, SIP, RTSP,media negotiation and call control modules for that purpose. Typically,information may propagate from the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation andcall control modules to PHY module 226 through TCP module 238, IP module234, LLC module 232 and MAC module 230.

It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that elements of theelectronic device 204 may also be implemented within the AP 206including but not limited to one or more elements of the protocol stack224, including for example an IEEE 802.11-compatible PHY module, an IEEE802.11-compatible MAC module, and an IEEE 802.12-compatible LLC module232. The AP 206 may additionally include a network layer IP module, atransport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module and a transportlayer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module as well as a sessionlayer Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module, a Session AnnouncementProtocol (SAP) module, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module and aReal Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module, media negotiation module,and a call control module. Portable and fixed electronic devicesrepresented by electronic device 204 may include one or more additionalwireless or wired interfaces in addition to the depicted IEEE 802.11interface which may be selected from the group comprising IEEE 802.15,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900,GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, IMT-2000, DSL, Dial-Up,DOCSIS, Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power line communication(PLC).

A. Inventive Methodology

According to an embodiment of the invention a user suffering aneurological deficit with a visual repercussion, such as amblyopia ortraumatic brain injury (TBI) for example, is provided with dichopticcontent through performing regular actions and/or dedicated actionsexploiting electronic displays such as their television, smarttelevision, three-dimensional television, smartphone, laptop computer,personal computer, etc. Embodiments of the invention may exploit asingle display in combination with chromatic filtering or exploit a pairof displays such as present within head mounted displays/virtual realityheadsets etc.

According to embodiments of the invention each eye of the user will onlysee or is only presented an incomplete image of the scene, which may betext, video, multimedia, computer game etc. Accordingly, the segments inboth eyes must be pieced together in order to comprehend the full scene.This segmentation of the scene is achieved by applying a patterned imagemask to one eye, and a second patterned image mask to the other eye. Insome embodiments the second patterned image is generated using theinverse of the same mask used to create the first patterned image. Inthis manner the user's eyes each see only scattered segments of oneimage, with the images in the two eyes being complementary to oneanother.

These masks may be static or dynamic according to embodiments of theinvention. These masks may be regularly shaped or irregularly shaped.These masks may either block or otherwise modify the visual informationcontained within them (e.g., filter, scramble. etc.). However, the masksto prevent the user establishing boundaries within either or both imagescan employ graded masking or graded edges to block regions such thatthere are no “sharp” edges arising from the mask(s).

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B there are depicted exemplary images for auser's left and right eyes with their associated masks for image contentand text content respectively. Considering FIG. 3A there are depictedfirst to fourth images 310 to 340 corresponding to:

-   -   First image 310 is the mask applied to the content for        presentation to the user's left eye;    -   Second image 320 is the mask applied to the content for        presentation to the user's left eye;    -   Third image 330 representing the image received by the user's        left eye;    -   Fourth image 340 representing the image received by the user's        right eye.

As depicted in FIG. 8 third and fourth images 330 and 340 may begenerated as separate images within a dual display environment or as twodistinct portions of a single display environment with physical barrierbetween display and eyes to prevent “cross-over.” Alternatively asdepicted in FIG. 8 they may be generated with a display and chromaticfiltering.

Similarly, referring to FIG. 3B there are depicted first to fourthimages 350 to 380 with respect to text, wherein:

-   -   First image 350 is the mask applied to the content for        presentation to the user's left eye;    -   Second image 360 is the mask applied to the content for        presentation to the user's left eye;    -   Third image 370 representing the text image received by the        user's left eye;    -   Fourth image 380 representing the text image received by the        user's right eye.

Again as depicted in FIG. 8 third and fourth images 370 and 380 may begenerated as separate images within a dual display environment or as twodistinct portions of a single display environment with physical barrierbetween display and eyes to prevent “cross-over.” Alternatively asdepicted in FIG. 8 they may be generated with a display and chromaticfiltering.

Accordingly, for patients with amblyopia, the masked images seen by thefellow fixing eye are adjusted so that they do not suppress the image inthe amblyopic eye. On the basis of extended treatment over a period oftime embodiments of the invention lead to improvements in binocularfusion abilities for these patients. Hence, once a point is reachedwhere the image features are the same in each eye, then there is normalbinocular fusion and hence we can then gradually shrink the size of themasking elements so that over time the system reaches the position whereboth eyes are viewing the same scene without suppression. According tothe system implementation users may employ different content including,but not limited to, movies, commercial video games, downloadedelectronic books (e-books) etc. In some embodiments of the inventionpre-recorded content, e.g. a Hollywood movie, can be pre-processed toallow for the method of dichoptic presentation according to embodimentsof the invention. Alternatively, real-time processing of the content maytake place on either a computer CPU, a computer's graphical processingunit (GPU) or a dedicated field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Suchprocessors may in some embodiments of the invention be implementedwithin the display producer, e.g. Blu-Ray™ player or gaming console,through dedicated hardware and/or software and/or firmware. In otherembodiments of the invention they are within a dedicated module disposedbetween, for example, a gaming console, and the display(s) and produce acontrollable level of display segmentation and filtering.

The inventors have verified that normal binocular sighted individualscan view content that has modified with complimentary dichoptic randomspatial masks and that this can also be done for amblyopes once theimage features, most notably the contrast, have been reduced in thefixing eye. The therapeutic outcome arises directly from the methodologyas the inventors have shown that over time this procedure strengthensbinocular combination and can, in some patients, restore vision. Theinventors' novel methodology provides each eye with only an incompleteimage of the scene such that the segments in both eyes must be piecedtogether to comprehend the full scene. The images are purely dichoptic,the segmentation of the scene is achieved by the online dynamicapplication of complementary patterned image masks dichoptically to eacheye.

The patterned image masks, as evident from FIGS. 3A to 4, are composedof irregularly shaped blobs produced by low frequency random noisetextures. Referring to FIG. 4 first and second opacity graphs 400A and400B are depicted for sections X-X and Y-Y in first and second images400C and 400D respectively. As evident the contours are smooth, showinga contrast gradient. On each frame, the mask is multiplied with theimage seen by one eye, and the inverse patterned mask is multiplied withthe images seen by the other eye. By avoiding sharp profiles the brain'snatural processing to define edges and associated objects to shapes isreduced or suppressed.

The masks, also referred to as noise masks, can vary dynamically andtheir transparency can be manipulated, from totally opaque to invisible.Whilst for ease of visual representation the description in respect ofFIGS. 3A to 4 and these embodiments themselves are made with respect tovariable intensity, i.e. regions blocked or having high opacity are lowintensity, e.g. Opacity=1 that region is dark (no displayed content), itwould be evident that other aspects of the images of one eye relative tothe other can be varied using this approach to achieve the desiredmental processing by the user's brain and over time a therapeuticeffect. Optionally, the contrasts of the images seen by each eye can bemanipulated independently rather than as complementary of each other.Other dynamic complementary or non-complementary manipulations can beapplied to other image parameters such as mean luminance, temporalfrequency, spatial frequency, depth, motion, orientation, etc. In all ofthese cases it is then necessary to piece the two eyes' views togetherin order to appreciate the content being viewed. Extension to any imageparameter is also possible for providing the manipulated content.

B. Clinical Study

B.1 Materials and Methods

B.1.1 Participants

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants/parents.Eight amblyopic children (4-10 years) were referred by two pediatricophthalmologists. Eligible children had ≥0.5 log minimum angle ofresolution (log MAR) amblyopic eye best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA),≤0.2 log MAR fellow-eye best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and ≥0.2log MAR interocular difference. Strabismic children were only eligibleto participate if misalignment of the visual axes had been successfullytreated with glasses and/or surgery (defined as ≤0.5 pd residualstrabismus). In addition, to be eligible, children had to have beenwearing spectacle correction for at least 3 months prior to the baselinevisit and their referring ophthalmologist had to be willing to forgoother amblyopia treatments during the 2-week study period. Exclusioncriteria were prematurity ≥8 weeks, developmental delay, and coexistingocular or systemic diseases. Medical records were obtained from thereferring ophthalmologists to extract diagnosis, cycloplegic refraction,and treatment plan (if any).

B.1.2 Dichoptic Content

During the 2-week study period, children wore glasses with polarizedlenses to watch 6 dichoptic movies shown on a passive 3D display in theinventors' laboratory. Dichoptic versions of 18 popular animated featurefilms were created. A screenshot from one of the movies is shown in FIG.4 with first and second images 400A and 400B. The high-contrast image,first image 400A, was presented to the amblyopic eye and low-contrastimage, second image 400B, to the fellow eye. A patterned image maskcomposed of irregularly shaped blobs was multiplied with the images seenby the amblyopic eye, and the inverse patterned mask was multiplied withthe images seen by the fellow eye. As a result, some parts of the imagewere only seen by one eye, some parts were only seen by the other eye,and some parts were seen by both eyes. It was necessary to piece the twoeyes' views together in order to appreciate the movies. The shape andlocation of the blobs were varied dynamically every 10 seconds.

B.1.3 Study Protocol

The fellow-eye contrast was initially set individually for eachamblyopic child at a reduced level that allowed binocular vision, basedon the child's dichoptic motion coherence threshold. Specifically, theinitial fellow-eye contrast was set to the dichoptic motion coherencethreshold minus 0.10, with a minimum setting of 0.20 and a maximumsetting of 0.60. The children traveled to the inventors' laboratory 3days per week and watched one movie per day. The fellow-eye contrast wasincremented by 10% for each subsequent movie (e.g., with an initialfellow-eye contrast setting of 0.30, subsequent movies would havefellow-eye contrasts of 0.33, 0.36, 0.40, 0.44, and 0.48). Each childwas accompanied by at least one parent/guardian during the moviesessions to ensure compliance (polarized glasses wear & attention to themovie). Their compliance was also checked by study personnel at 15-30min intervals.

At the baseline and 2-week outcome visits, BCVA, random dotstereoacuity, and interocular suppression were measured.

Visual Acuity:

BCVA was obtained for each eye with the Amblyopia Treatment Study (ATS)HOTV (ATS-HOTV) (<7 years) or electronic Early Treatment DiabeticRetinopathy Study (E-ETDRS) (≥7 years) methods.

Stereoacuity:

Random dot stereoacuity was evaluated using the Randot® PreschoolStereoacuity Test, the Stereo Butterfly Test, and Lang-Stereotest I.

Interocular Suppression:

Severity of interocular suppression was quantified using a dichopticmotion coherence test based. Children wore glasses with polarized lensesto view dichoptic random dot kinematograms presented in a 22°-diameteraperture on a passive 3D display. The amblyopic eye saw dots moving in acoherent direction (signal) and the fellow eye saw dots moving in randomdirections (noise). The task was to indicate the direction of coherentmotion. Amblyopic-eye contrast was fixed at 1.0. Fellow-eye contrast wasinitially set to 0.0 and incremented in a 2-down-1-up staircase todetermine the maximum tolerated fellow-eye contrast before the amblyopiceye was suppressed and the child could no longer report the direction ofcoherent motion. The maximum tolerated fellow-eye contrast provided aquantitative measurement of the severity of suppression; the higher thelevel, the lower the severity of suppression.

Questionnaire:

In order to informally assess the effect of standard movie andtelevision watching on BCVA on amblyopia, the inventors administered aquestionnaire to the parents of the participants. The questionnairecollected retrospective data on how many hours the children watchedmovies or television shows per day at home prior to the baseline visit,with or without patching. The inventors identified the two consecutivevisits to each participant's pediatric ophthalmologist that occurredprior to baseline and extracted the BCVA from the medical records fromthe two visits to assess the effects of television/movie viewing invisual acuity.

Data Analysis:

Efficacy of watching the dichoptic movies was evaluated using pairedt-tests for the primary amblyopic-eye BCVA outcome, and the secondarysuppression outcome.

B.2 Results

Eight amblyopic children (4-10 years) were enrolled. Baselinecharacteristics are summarized in Tables 1A and 1B. The cohort includedthree children with anisometropic amblyopia, one with strabismicamblyopia and four with combined mechanism amblyopia. Amblyopic-eyevisual acuity ranged from 0.50 to 1.20 log MAR at baseline and all hadnil stereoacuity. None of the children in the study had manifest tropiafollowing treatment with glasses and/or surgery. Prior to baseline, allchildren had worn glasses for ≥9 months with excellent compliance. Twoparticipants had no amblyopia treatment prescribed other than spectaclecorrection prior to the baseline visit. Six children had patchingtreatment for ≥8 months prior to baseline; 2 had discontinued patching≥1 year prior to the baseline visit due to lack of continued visualacuity improvement despite reported good compliance and 4 stoppedpatching in order to participate in the study (these children alsoreported good compliance with patching).

TABLE 1A Amblyopic Child Patient Data Type of Random Dot StrabismusDuration Pt ID Sex Age (y) Amblyopia Stereoacuity Tropia Glasses Surgery(y) 1 M 4.9 A nil ortho Y N 0.8 2 F 7.2 A nil ortho Y N 1.4 3 F 9.3 Anil ortho Y N 1.8 4 F 7.3 S nil ortho Y N 4.3 5 F 4.7 C nil ortho Y Y0.8 6 F 7.3 C nil ortho Y Y 3.9 7 M 8.2 C nil ortho Y Y 4.8 8 F 10.7 Cnil ortho Y N 4.4 75% F  mean = 7.4 Yes 100% 38% Y mean = 2.8 25% M SD =2.0 No  0% 63% N SD = 1.7 Duration = Duration of Spectacle Wear Prior toBaseline

TABLE 1B Amblyopic Child Patient Data Amblyopic Cycloplegic CycloplegicEye VA Random Dot Refraction Refraction Pt ID Sex Age (y) (logMar)Stereoacuity Right Eye Left eye 1 M 4.9 0.70 nil +6.25 + 1.00 × 110+5.00 + 1.00 × 085 2 F 7.2 1.20 nil +2.75 + 2.25 × 100 +2.50 + 0.25 ×105 3 F 9.3 0.80 nil +4.50 + 0.50 × 030 +2.50 + 0.25 × 120 4 F 7.3 0.80nil +2.00 + 0.75 × 180 +1.50 + 1.00 × 180 5 F 4.7 0.50 nil +1.75 +3.50 6F 7.3 0.80 nil +3.25 + 0.50 × 085 +1.00 7 M 8.2 0.50 nil +3.75 +5.25 8 F10.7 0.50 nil +3.00 +4.25 75% F  mean = 7.4 mean = 0.72 25% M SD = 2.0SD = 0.24

During the 2-week study period, each amblyopic child watched 6 dichopticmovies, for a mean (±SD) total time of 9.4±0.9 hours. All childrencompleted the study. Mean (±SD) amblyopic-eye BCVA improved from0.72±0.08 log MAR at baseline to 0.52±0.09 log MAR at the 2-week visit(t₇=4.38; p=0.003; N=8); i.e., 2.0 lines of improvement. As shown inFIG. 5A, all eight children had improved amblyopic-eye BCVA at the2-Week outcome visit; 3 children with 0.5 log MAR baseline BCVA improved0.1 log MAR (1 line), 4 children with 0.7-0.8 log MAR baseline BCVAimproved 0.2-0.4 log MAR (2-4 lines), and 1 child with 1.2 log MARbaseline BCVA improved 0.1 log MAR (1 line). Fellow-eye BCVA did notchange significantly during the 2-week study (mean change±SE=0.04±0.03log MAR; i.e., 2 letters worse; t₇=1.45; p=0.19; N=8).

Interocular suppression was measured in the 7 of the 8 children atbaseline and the 2-week outcome visit. In this brief 2-week study, nosignificant reduction in suppression was found (t₆=0.77; p=0.47; N=7).

Parents of 6 out of 8 children responded to the questionnaire aboutmovie and television viewing time prior to the baseline. They allreported that the child watched regularly television 1-2 hours/dayduring the months prior to the baseline visit. While watching TV ormovies, 3 of the children were patching and 3 were not. However, thisregular monocular or binocular television viewing at home did not resultin a significant improvement in amblyopic eye BCVA. With a mean (±SD)interval of 7.8±3.8 months between the first and second ophthalmologyoffice visits, mean BCVA (±SE) was 0.54±0.11 log MAR on the initialvisit and 0.50±0.07 log MAR on the second visit, just before baseline(t₅=2.57, p=0.74). In comparison, watching dichoptic movies withoutconcurrent amblyopia treatment resulted in a significant improvement of2 lines in the amblyopic-eye BCVA after only 2 weeks (about 9.4 hours)of dichoptic stimulation.

B.3 Discussion

In summary, the proof-of-concept study and its results demonstrate thatpassive viewing of dichoptic feature films provides a methodology foraddressing childhood amblyopia. Although a separate control group wasnot incorporated in the study, our retrospective data showed thatregular TV/movie viewing (either monocular or binocular) for monthsprior to our study did not result in improved amblyopic-eye BCVA. Nosignificant change in the severity of suppression after dichoptic moviewatching was found in the current study. During the shortproof-of-concept study, children achieved 1-4 lines of visual acuityimprovement. This new method improves BCVA rapidly, compared topatching, which has been shown to require 120 hours to achieve one lineof improvement in amblyopic children who have already been treated withspectacles for 12-16 weeks.

Within the study the subjects were viewing the movies on a passive 3Dscreen. To demonstrate platform independence the inventors adapted theirmasking programs to display the movies dichoptically using a virtualreality headset, Oculus Rift, and obtained the results depicted in FIG.5B for improvements in visual acuity and stereo acuity on 5 amblyopicsubjects who followed a one hour daily training for two weeks.Accordingly, in such a short period with short training sessions theimprovements in acuity and disparity threshold were clearly evident.However, it would be evident that the invention may in differentimplementations be used for extended periods of time per day andextended duration overall as it becomes part of the user's routineviewing.

C. Implementation

Referring to FIG. 6 there is depicted an exemplary process flow forgenerating an displaying dichoptic content to a user exploiting dual“display” elements, for example a virtual reality headset or barrieredsingle display as depicted and described below in FIG. 8. The processbegins at step 605 wherein the user selects content to watch. In step610 a determination is made with respect to processing as to whether thecontent will be processed or not, wherein if the content is not going tobe processed the process proceeds to step 615 and stops. For example,the image may be spatially uniform, have low contrast, be highly dynamicetc. If the content is to be processed the process proceeds to step 620and extracts additional image information which is used subsequently forestablishing the masks. Next in step 625 the process establishes theuser's identity, accesses a user profile data base 630, and in step 635retrieves a user profile 635 that establishes aspects of the process.Such information may be periodically revised as a user exploits theprocess and periodically has their eyesight checked. Optionally, a usermay periodically be provided with an electronically generated eye testat home wherein a test routine executes with user responses received viakeyboard, remote control, voice etc.

Based upon the retrieved user information and extracted imageinformation the process proceeds in steps 645A and 645B respectively togenerate the left and right masks 6100/6200 which are then merged withleft and right image content 6300/6400 in steps 650A and 650B to formthe images to be presented to the user in steps 655A and 655B depictedas images 6500/660. These are then presented and in step 660 the processdetermines whether new masks are to be generated, wherein the processreturns to step 640, whether new content is to be presented, wherein theprocess returns to steps 650A and 650B or whether the process iscomplete in which case the process proceeds to step 665 and terminates.

Now referring to FIG. 7 there is depicted an exemplary process flow forgenerating an displaying dichoptic content to a user exploiting a singledisplay, for example a television, smartphone, tablet PC, laptop PC,etc. as depicted and described below in FIG. 8. Accordingly, filtering,e.g. chromatic, is established and applied. As depicted the process flowbeing with sub-flow 700 that incorporates steps 605 to 635 as describedand depicted in FIG. 6. From sub-flow 700 the process proceeds to step710 wherein the left and right masks 7100/7200 are generated, e.g. thosebeing modified in the red/green respectively. For simplicity quadrantsare presented but irregular patterns such as those of masks 6100/6200may be employed with graded shifting. Subsequently, in step 720 thecontent 7300 is acquired and the modified content 7400 generated in step730 as presented to the user. Next in step process determines whethernew masks are to be generated, wherein the process returns to step 710,whether new content is to be presented, wherein the process returns tostep 720 or whether the process is complete in which case the processproceeds to step 750 and terminates.

Referring to FIG. 8 there are depicted examples of displays andancillary devices supporting embodiments of the invention. First andsecond images 810 and 820 respectively depict commercial virtual realityheadsets from Sony™ 810 and Oculus Rift 820 together with a lost costdo-it-yourself (DIY) cardboard based headset 830. Commercial virtualreality headsets may exploit one display which is partitioned or twodisplays. As evident in DIY headset 830 a physical barrier separates theimages to the left and right eyes from a display or displays providingleft and right images. Also depicted are first and second sets ofshutter based three-dimensional (3D) glasses 840 and 850 for use with 3Dtelevision 860 and first and second sets of chromatic 3D glasses 870 and890 for use with tablet PC 880 and other display devices. Alternate 3Ddisplay technologies include the use of polarizing glasses withorthogonal polarizations for each eye and lenslet technologies that areglasses free, for example. Essentially, the display technologies splitinto those exploiting discretely provided images to each eye throughphysical separation and those through optical separation (e.g.polarization, time (shutter), and wavelength).

Referring to flow 8000 content 8100 is processed by a processor 8200 fordisplay upon a device 8300. Within embodiments of the inventionprocessor 8200 may be software upon a tablet PC, laptop PC, smartphoneetc. that processes the content 8100 and displays it as a singleapplication. Alternatively, processor 8200 may be a plug-in, applicationprogram interface (API) etc. to a content display application such asWindows™ MediaPlayer, Internet Explorer etc. In other embodiments of theinvention processor 8200 may be embedded as part of thefirmware/software/hardware of the display device 8300 or it may bedownloaded to it.

D. Extensions

Whilst the descriptions presented supra in respect of FIGS. 3 to 8 aredescribed and presented in respect of treatment of amblyopia,embodiments of the invention may also address issues for individualsthat are insensitive to 3D stereo scenes, or are stereoblind. Up to 30%of the population may be stereoblind, and with increasing availabilityof 3D TVs and 3D movies, the market for improving depth perception growsaccordingly in addition to helping these individuals in their everydaylife. This method of dichoptic presentation does not require anyperception of depth, but it does require binocular fusion which is alsorequired for stereo-depth perception. Accordingly, the inventors expectimproving binocular fusion will also improve stereoscopic depth.

It would be evident that the methods described and presented above maybe applied to addressing visual dysfunction in users arising from otherdiseases including, for example, those that may cause binoculardiscomfort or scotomas. Examples include traumatic brain injury, heartattack, stroke, demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis(retrobulbar neuritis), damage to nerve fiber layer in the retina due tohypertension or toxic substances, nutritional deficiencies, vascularblockages, and macular degeneration.

It would also be evident that the methods described and presented abovemay be applied to any disease or condition wherein the cooperativevision of user's pair of eyes is disturbed. It would also be evident itcan be applied generally to improving vision even in “normal”individuals as even such “normal individual” represent a distribution ofvisual functionality and performance wherein these small deviationscould be further corrected with the inventive methodologies with animproved vision or specific improvement in binocular function for asubset of the “normal” individuals.

Within the descriptions supra in respect of the specification and thefigures images for viewing by a user are modified either prior to theirdisplay to the user upon a display forming part of an electronic deviceor by modifying the view that the user's eye can see, e.g. byprogrammable optical systems disposed in front of the user's eyes, or byadjusting the view the can see by programmable optical systems. In eachinstance the modifications made to the image either electronically oroptically before the user's retina receives it are made in dependenceupon one or more characteristics of their visual dysfunction or visualfunction. It would be evident that in many instances the user will havetheir visual acuity tested within a controlled environment such theophthalmic department of a hospital, medical center, etc. as well inother ophthalmic environments. In these instances parameters relating tothe image adjustments/modifications will be generated which requireassociating with the system(s) the user will employ. In embodiments ofthe invention this may be made directly at the controlled environmentalthough in other embodiments of the invention the settings may beelectronically stored within a server and remotelyaccessed/downloaded/transferred to the user's system(s) via a networksuch as the Internet via one or more devices and/or systems such asdescribed supra in respect of FIGS. 1 and 2.

It would also be evident that the user's use of the methodology may betracked and uploaded for medical review as well as feedback etc.relating to the user's experience via one or more devices and/or systemsand/or networks such as described supra in respect of FIGS. 1 and 2. Inother embodiments of the invention the settings may be periodicallyvaried based upon user usage, feedback etc. via one or more devicesand/or systems and/or networks such as described supra in respect ofFIGS. 1 and 2. For example, every 25 hours (for example) the systemmakes a couple of adjustments and asks for the user's feedback as towhether these are better/worse than the current setting and based uponthe user's responses a variation to the settings is established. Itwould also be evident that via one or more devices and/or systems and/ornetworks such as described supra in respect of FIGS. 1 and 2 the usermay employ the methodologies according to embodiments of the inventionwithin a variety of locations in conjunction with a single display ormultiple displays. For example, a user may employ a virtual realitygaming headset at home and filtered glasses at work.

It would also be evident that the users may interact periodically witheye tests, eye charts, etc. for progress monitoring wherein these may beadministered remotely or within the controlled environments. Withinother embodiments of the invention a user may access a software downloadproviding functionality to their electronic device to performmethodologies according to embodiments of the invention. Such downloadsmay for example be via software applications, social media feeds, etc.whilst user's employing the methodologies may similarly be members ofsocial media and social media groups relating different medicalconditions etc. whilst tracking their progress etc. within a privategroup providing support, feedback, encouragement etc.

Specific details are given in the above description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it is understoodthat the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not toobscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances,well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniquesmay be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring theembodiments.

Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps and means describedabove may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques,blocks, steps and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing unitsmay be implemented within one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signalprocessing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described above and/or a combination thereof.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed, but could have additional steps not includedin the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the functionto the calling function or the main function.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages and/or any combination thereof. When implementedin software, firmware, middleware, scripting language and/or microcode,the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may bestored in a machine readable medium, such as a storage medium. A codesegment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions,data structures and/or program statements. A code segment may be coupledto another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters and/or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor orexternal to the processor and may vary in implementation where thememory is employed in storing software codes for subsequent execution tothat when the memory is employed in executing the software codes. Asused herein the term “memory” refers to any type of long term, shortterm, volatile, nonvolatile, or other storage medium and is not to belimited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or typeof media upon which memory is stored.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and/orvarious other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

The methodologies described herein are, in one or more embodiments,performable by a machine which includes one or more processors thataccept code segments containing instructions. For any of the methodsdescribed herein, when the instructions are executed by the machine, themachine performs the method. Any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine are included. Thus, a typical machine may be exemplifiedby a typical processing system that includes one or more processors.Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics-processingunit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further mayinclude a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM,and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating betweenthe components. If the processing system requires a display, such adisplay may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD). If manualdata entry is required, the processing system also includes an inputdevice such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as akeyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth.

The memory includes machine-readable code segments (e.g. software orsoftware code) including instructions for performing, when executed bythe processing system, one of more of the methods described herein. Thesoftware may reside entirely in the memory, or may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within theprocessor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, thememory and the processor also constitute a system comprisingmachine-readable code.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected, e.g., networked to other machines, in a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. Themachine may be, for example, a computer, a server, a cluster of servers,a cluster of computers, a web appliance, a distributed computingenvironment, a cloud computing environment, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. The term “machine” may also betaken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointlyexecute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one ormore of the methodologies discussed herein.

The foregoing disclosure of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations andmodifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. Thescope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appendedhereto, and by their equivalents.

Further, in describing representative embodiments of the presentinvention, the specification may have presented the method and/orprocess of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps.However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on theparticular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process shouldnot be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps maybe possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth inthe specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims.In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of thepresent invention should not be limited to the performance of theirsteps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readilyappreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for improving visual function, themethod comprising: generating a first image having first scattered scenesegments having first level of information content and first maskedareas with transitions between the scattered scene segments and themasked areas are gradual; and generating a second image having secondscattered scene segments having second level of information contentdifferent from the first level of information content and second maskedareas with transitions between the scattered scene segments and themasked areas are gradual, wherein neither said first image nor saidsecond image providing a complete representation of a scene, and saidfirst image and said second image, when combined dichoptically, providesaid complete representation of said scene.
 2. The method as defined inclaim 1, wherein said first image and said second image are videoimages.
 3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein a source videoimage stream is provided to obtain a stream of source images, saidgenerating the first image comprises processing said source images andsaid generating the second image comprises processing said sourceimages.
 4. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein said first imageand said second image are generated at a time of viewing said firstimage and said second image.
 5. The method as defined in claim 2,wherein said video images are stored as a recorded video stream.
 6. Themethod as defined in claim 2, wherein said first image and said secondimage are generated at a first location and displayed at a secondlocation.
 7. The method as defined in claim 6, comprising transmissionover a data network of a stream comprising said first image and saidsecond image.
 8. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein saidinformation content is defined by image contrast.
 9. The method asdefined in claim 1, wherein said first level of information content andsaid second level of information content are varied over time to reducea difference therebetween.
 10. The method as defined in claim 1, whereinat least a portion of said scene is included in both of said first imageand said second image.
 11. The method as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid first masked areas and said second masked areas are changed overtime.
 12. A non-volatile, non-transitory storage medium storingexecutable instructions for execution by a processor which when executedresult in a process for providing images for reducing binoculardysfunction, the process comprising: generating a first image havingfirst scattered scene segments having first level of information contentand first masked areas with transitions between the scattered scenesegments and the masked areas are gradual; and generating a second imagehaving second scattered scene segments having second level ofinformation content different from the first level of informationcontent and second masked areas with transitions between the scatteredscene segments and the masked areas are gradual, wherein neither saidfirst image nor said second image providing a complete representation ofa scene, and said first image and said second image, when combineddichoptically, provide said complete representation of said scene. 13.The storage medium as defined in claim 12, wherein said first image andsaid second image are video images.
 14. The storage medium as defined inclaim 13, wherein a source video image stream is provided to obtain astream of source images, said generating the first image comprisesprocessing said source images and said generating the second imagecomprises processing said source images.
 15. The storage medium asdefined in claim 14, wherein said first image and said second image aregenerated at a time of viewing said first image and said second image.16. The storage medium as defined in claim 13, wherein said video imagesare stored as a recorded video stream.
 17. The storage medium as definedin claim 13, wherein said first image and said second image aregenerated at a first location and displayed at a second location. 18.The storage medium as defined in claim 17, comprising transmission overa data network of a stream comprising said first image and said secondimage.
 19. The storage medium as defined in claim 12, wherein saidinformation content is defined by image contrast.
 20. The storage mediumas defined in claim 12, wherein said first level of information contentand said second level of information content are varied over time toreduce a difference therebetween.
 21. The storage medium as defined inclaim 12, wherein at least a portion of said scene is included in bothof said first image and said second image.
 22. The storage medium asdefined in claim 12, wherein said first masked areas and said secondmasked areas are changed over time.